2012: In Review

2012 was another great year!

It was a year of international travels. My wanderlust brought me to the following Asian countries:

1 - Bali and Jakarta Indonesia (March)
2 - Taipei, Taiwan (August)
3 - South Korea (November)

Although in 2011, I visited one more than than this year (four countries - Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan), 2012 is more expensive.  My Japan trip was sponsored by the company I worked for, so literally I didn't spend much there.

2012 also brought me to the beautiful Coron, Palawan.  It is one place I always recommend to foreigners.
This year also as I promised myself at the start, I went home to Cebu very often.  One reason was to attend weddings of friends. (I wonder when I will attend my own wedding, hehehe...)

If it was a year of travel for me, it was also the year when my parents and sister went to the USA. And boy, I was glad to be able to pay for their airfares (in cash!!!).  I think if the petition came a year or two earlier, I wouldn't have the money to fund it. It was God's perfect timing.

Career-wise, 2012 saw my promotion - my first ever taste of promotion.  I have been working for ten years, and never had I tasted the glory of promotion prior to 2012. I had always been reluctant of responsibility.  But this year, I embraced it. The leadership journey was not easy but because I perservered, I now feel grateful for the leadership opportunity given to me.  I am happy too that I was given a mentor to help me in this journey. I asked, and I received.   Randy Pausch said it well, "Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true."   2013 will be a year to ask for more, and seek for more opportunities.

In July 2012, I passed my CIMA P2 exam! I now have an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from CIMA. Two more stages, I will become a full-pledged CIMA.

Financially, I didn't feel burdened, but I still have not achieved my promise to invest in the stock market.  I did get another life insurance/mutual fund investments, but to invest in the stock market didn't happen. Oh I need to start it this 2013!

With credit card debt, I still have them but all manageable. :)

I became this year a World Vision sponsor and a donor for Unicef Philippines.  I am proud of this achievement! :)

Love life, it is the subject I am so interested in but seems it is not interested in me. The result is a failing mark.       I probably should create strategies for this to succeed. :)

2012 also saw my lola broke her pelvis.  It meant I had to shell out money from my savings (good thing I had some!) and meant more stress to my family in Cebu.  But God has been very good and we were all able to surpass this challenge.  I am happy to have spent New Year's Eve with my lola, and the rest of the family.

I end the year and start the new year with so much gratefulness in my heart. I am truly blessed.

The Nations I've Been To So Far

I am a travel buff.  And one of my goal in life is to go to as many countries, nations, places as I can around the world.

So far I have been to the following nations (in chronological order.. NB -  My first out-of-the country trip was in Singapore):

2007 - Singapore
2008 - UK
2010 - Hong Kong / Macau
2011 - Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand
2012 - Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea

That's ten countries in 5 years! :)

I'm so thankful for all the opportunities given to me that allowed me to go to these places.

Let there be more places to explore!  Let travelling be as easy as ever it can be.

Happiest day in Dec!!!

I just couldn't help it but say this!!! I'm just extremely happy because today I got to hug my biggest idol, my ultimate crush!!! ohhhh how i wish i could just melt in his arms... :)))

My epitaph, my obituary

So these days I have been thinking about what I want in life, I have been evaluating my goals, my career plans, my life.

And I've read it from somewhere that to do this, start asking yourself how do you want to be remembered, how do you want people to see you? What do I want written in my epitaph? What should my obituary say about me?

So I made a lot of thinking and I am listing down here the things that I want people to remember about me when I die:

A person who gave much and expected little, was generous of her time, possessions, and her whole self. 

A person who made other people become better persons in this world. A teacher of life. 

A person who believed that going to places, travelling around the world is a good way to experience life. 

So I think whatever my future decisions are, they should be aligned with these 3 major premises of my life.